(Adventure) Rivenblight's Castaway [Creamsteak judging]

[GnomeWorks]

This has really bad written all over it...

"Damn it..." Troi mutters as he looks at the trail. "They must notta gotten 'ere yet..."

"Right, 'cross the trail I go..." He mutters to himself, dashes across the trail. "Wait... I know... that guy I knocked out had a bow... if I can get there, I might be able ta lose 'em, an' I'll have a bow. But that might take too long... if I try ta double back, that might work, an' I'll be able ta get my bow back..."

He moves as far as possible into the woods on the far side of the trail.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

This has really bad written all over it...

Yes. Alternate map included one dot representing you, another dot representing safety, and a distance measurement consisting of "Really, Really Far."

Troi runs as fast as his aching legs and lungs will take him. Down the trail, across the road, and back into the forest, all along the way leaving a trail of blood. He stumbles over a root, twisting him to the right and forcing him to slow. His hand has just shot out to a small birch for support when the metal head and wooden shaft of an arrow go through the weak joining of arm and body of his chain mail, taking him in the side of the chest. Thirty yards away, the bandit lowers her bow and bares her teeth in satisfaction.

Troi continues his spin onto the forest floor, the intense pain throbbing from his side. With his face pressed into the loam, he hears rapidly approaching footsteps and perhaps voices. A simple brown leather boot steps into his field of vision, and then his sight begins to fade and blackness claims him.

Six miles away, with the distance growing every step, nothing save a (perhaps imagined) chill breeze marks the occurrences. A few hours later, with still no word from Troi, they arrive at the busy and goodly-sized inn at the edge of the forest. Although he says nothing on the subject, even Tylkin looks concerned. He gives you all a faint, distracted nod as he gets off the cart. “Take care of the mule, if you would. There are some words I must have with the innkeeper.” He strides purposefully off. The mule, like the rest of you, is tired and dusty from the trip, although she is saved the burden of anxiety.

Right. I'll e-mail all other players shortly, just to make sure they're still around. Whether or not Troi has finally become the first player casualty of ENworld is something narrative causality dictates I must leave veiled, save to GnomeWorks himself, who will also be getting an e-mail.

Edit: Oddly, "the administrator has disabled the e-mail function." Does anyone know if this is a temporary thing, or what have you? Until then, I'll just hope that everyone's still watching and that GW is willing to wait or settle for spoiler tags.

 

[Sparky]

It is with mixed feelings that Ioleta finds herself out of the forest at last. She takes the reins from Tylkin, handing them without comment to Jaan. Shrugging off her pack, she turns to look back down the trail.

She takes a breath to speak and stops, rubbing her face with a hand. "This isn't good." She looks up and catches a glimpse of Tykin as he enters the Inn. She glances at the mule and the wagon. At Velbrik and Jaan.

She checks her sword and other various hidden blades, glancing always back toward the forest. "Velbrik? You know Troi best... should we go looking for him? Jaan, what do you think?"

 

[GnomeWorks]

Email is korey at nandgate dot com.

 

[WizWrm]

Velbrik leans back against the wagon, arms folded, a look of worry on his face. "I...don't know. On one hand, I see little chance of being able to track his progress through the forest; none of us really have those sorts of skills. If he was captured, or simply hadn't gotten around to finding his way back by the time we exited the forest, I don't think we'd be able to find him without help; by which I mean hiring either a trained ranger or a spell or two. Possibly it might be worth the time spent to check the trail again, to see if he left a note or some indicator of his passing, but trying to search the forest itself might be wasted. On the other hand...well, we do have a job that needs completion, and we can't totally abandon our contract to go off on a chase that so far is looking to have little reason to expect success."

Still here. How long did we spend in the forest, in total? And how much more time will we spend traveling before we reach our destination?

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

You spent just over a day in the forest (the forest covers 17 miles of road, and the cart travels 16 miles in a typical 8-hour travelling day). Tylkin never actually specified where he was going, other than to say he wasn't going as far as Rivenblight.

doghead, I know from other games, is going to be out for a bit (might be as late as Thursday, but I can't recall precisely).

Troi, e-mail en route.

Edit: If and when you get back to the Dragon, I've no problems with you recruiting a posse to avenge/rescue Troi, or at least pick up a tracker. Hiring an NPC is also an option, but I see no reason not to get more PCs involved.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

After a few minutes in the Inn, Tylkin returns. His expression is a study in careful neutrality. He gives the three of those assembled a nod.

"Jaan. Velbrik. Ioleta." He pauses, and then continues carefully. "You've been with me three days." He raises a small bag, which tinkles slightly. "Your payment for services thus far, to the copper." He clears his throat, and looks over their shoulders at the darkening forest. In a casual manner, he says "The road from here on is remarkably bandit-free, so unless you plan to capture the few that exist there as well, one could hardly find fault if you chose to end our business relationship at this juncture." He clears his throat and turns back to them. "All things considered."

 

[doghead]

Jaan considers the tradeer for a moment. His heart is heavy for a number of reasons. Worry weighs on it. As does remorse for their lack of forthrightness.

"Tylkin. We weren't completely up front with you, and for that I apologise. But we got you through to where you wanted to go as we said we would."

He glances down at the coin that Tylkin offers, then back up at the man in front of him.

"It is in my heart to wait for our lost companion, so your words are welcome ones. I can't speak for the others, but I won't take any payment. There is something that I would ask of you however. The name of one who can track, and who is available for hire. If you should know of such."

ooc: Diplomacy +3 to try and improve relations with Tylkin. Jaan will pay back Tylkin from his share should the others take theirs. His decision not to take the money was his own and he won't force it on anyone else.

 

[WizWrm]

Velbrik shrugs. "I don't need the money, so if your morals require you to refuse payment, I won't make you pay my share."

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Tylkin gives a miniscule shrug, as if whether they accept the money or not does not matter to him, either. "You kept," he says, with a trace of irony, "The bandits off me thus far. If nothing else, perhaps Troi deserves some hazard pay." He hands the bag to whoever cares to accept it. "You may continue to accompany me, or you may not. The choice is entirely yours. Now, if you'll excuse me, I wish to have some dinner and go to bed." He nods his goodbyes and, barring anyone speaking to him further, re-enters the inn.